Making his mark

McMinnville High School product Frankie Lopez is starring on the soccer pitch and blazing a path for other local players to succeed at the college and professional level

By Grant Lucas

The Forest Grove News-Times, Jun 25, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (1 Reader comment)

Tommy Whitcomb / News-Times

Frankie Lopez dribbles the ball during Sunday’s match.

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As he pulls a Portland Timbers U-23 jersey over his head, 20-year-old Frankie Lopez feels the familiar flutter of butterflies in his stomach. To relax, he calls his father. His idol.

Lopez receives advice on how to improve his game as well as recognition of what he’s doing right. It’s his family he plays for and his idol that helps him succeed.

A 2007 graduate of McMinnville High School, Lopez led the University of Portland in scoring last season with 12 goals, earning All-West Coast Conference honors as a sophomore. For the Timbers U-23 team, which competes in the United Soccer Leagues’ Premier Development League, Lopez has contributed one goal and two assists in eight games so far this summer.

“Frankie brings a lot to the table. He’s creative, quick and doesn’t pass up opportunities,” said Timbers U-23 head coach Jim Rilatt, who is also an assistant for the men’s soccer program at Pacific University. “He’s a great team guy with a real positive attitude. He keeps players motivated through positive encouragement and is a coach’s dream.”

That’s the style of play that Lopez said he wanted to show the organization. He not only wanted to score goals, but also wanted to make everyone around him better. Now he hopes the Timbers will recognize that he wants to get to the next level and that he’ll do whatever is asked of him to get there.

Lopez’s success is paying other dividends too. Players from Forest Grove and other schools in the Pacific Conference see a former opponent making a name for himself and suddenly the thought of going on to play at the college or professional level doesn’t seem so far-fetched.

Eric Laukkanen, a former Forest Grove standout who played against Lopez in high school, said the Pac-9 — as it used to be called — was an underrated conference. Lopez helps bring more attention to the league with every minute he plays for the Timbers U-23s. Laukkanen remembers Lopez as an excellent all-around player, labeling him as “intimidating.” But as threatening as he may have seemed, Laukkanen recalls him as a likeable guy.

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